January 1997

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Features

BANDWIDTH, UNLIMITED

Optical devices moving to market
could boost telephone company
profits--or wipe them out

By W. Wayt Gibbs

Cosmic Rays at the Energy Frontier

These particles carry more energy than
any others in the universe. Their origin
is unknown but may be relatively nearby

By James W. Cronin, Simon P. Swordy and Thomas K. Gaisser

MAN-MADE SNOW

By Rich Brown

Catch a Comet by Its Tail

By Shawn Carlson

AWAITING THEBIG BANG?

Scientists grapple withMontserrat's live volcano

By David Schneider

IN BRIEF

By Kristin Leutwyler

BY THE NUMBERS

Threatened Mammals

By Rodger Doyle

MORE GALLONS PER MILE

Chemical signals narrow
the search for petroleum

By Tim Beardsley

Flight of Fancy

Will a new kind of submersible truly benefit research?

By David Schneider and David Schneider and W. Wayt Gibbs

CHILLING CHIPS

Microjets of air can cool chips,
but...speak up!

By Tim Beardsley

The 1996 Nobel Prizes in Science

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has again recognized four sets of researchers for their outstanding contributions. Here is a look at the work behind these achievements in chemistry, physics, medicine and economics

By John Rennie, Paul Wallich and Philip Yam

Steps To Recovery

Researchers find ways of coaxing spinal nerves to regrow

By Tim Beardsley

Understanding Parkinson's Disease

The smoking gun is still missing, but growing evidence suggests highly reactive substances called free radicals are central players in this common neurological disorder

By Moussa B. H. Youdim and Peter Riederer

Tackling Turbulence with Supercomputers

Computers only recently became powerful enough to illuminate simple examples of this great classical problem. In some cases, they will let engineers control it

By John Kim and Parviz Moin

Transgenic Livestock as Drug Factories

By introducing key human genes into mammals, biologists can induce dairy animals to produce therapeutic proteins in their milk

By Henryk Lubon, William H. Velander and William N. Drohan

How the Blind Draw

Blind and sighted people use many of the same devices in sketching their surroundings, suggesting that vision and touch are closely linked

By John M. Kennedy

Experimental Flooding in Grand Canyon

Scientists monitor a controlled deluge that was staged in the early spring of 1996 solely for the benefit of the environment in and around the Colorado River

By Edmund D. Andrews, Michael P. Collier and Robert H. Webb

Science versus Antiscience?

Movements lumped under the term antiscience have disparate causes, and not all pose as much of a threat as has been claimed

Doing the Poincaré Shuffle

By Philip Morrison

Departments

The Einstein-Szilard Refrigerators

From the Editor

Defending Reason Reasonably

Letters

Letters

Recommended

REMEMBRANCE OFFUTURE PAST

Anti Gravity

Chewing the Fat

50, 100 & 150 Years Ago

50, 100 and 150 Years Ago: Unusual Cooker, Telegraphing Without Wires and an Iron Bridge

In Brief

QUICK ARTICLE SUMMARIES

Profile

Do Try This @Home

Mathematical Recreation

Alphamagic Squares

Science and the Citizen

All in the Timing

Connections

A Bit of a Flutter

Cyber View

No More 9 to 5

Field Notes

Suburban Amber

Technology and Business

Fetal Checkup

Purchase To Read More

Digital Issue ?Read or download this issue’s articles online. *A printed copy of this issue is not included. $7.99

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